Green chalcedony cylinder seal
From Mesopotamia
Middle Assyrian / Kassite Period, about 1400-1200 BC
Inscribed with the command of a Kassite god
With the collapse of the dynasty of Hammurapi (around 1595 BC)
the control of southern Mesopotamia passed into the hands of the
Kassites. This seal dates to the time when this line of Kassite
kings governed Babylonia. Mystery still surrounds the origins of
the Kassites. They may have come from the mountains on the borders
with Iran or from the Middle Euphrates. Their names, and those of
their gods, bear witness to their foreign origins but they
assimilated the language and culture of Babylonia, restored the
temples and provided stable rule for almost 500 years until their
dynasty was brought to an end in 1155 BC.
The cuneiform inscription on this seal reads:
'At the command of the god Shuqamuna, may its [that is, the
seal's] owner be established and have abundant life'
Kassite gods are often only known as part of personal names but
Shuqamuna was equated with the Mesopotamian gods Nergal (god of the
underworld) and Nusku (god of fire) and his symbol appears on
kuddurus (boundary stones) as a bird-standard.
D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder se (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)